It takes a wonderful brain and exquisite senses to produce a few stupid ideas.
George SantayanaRead
Many possessions, if they do not make a man better, are at least expected to make his children happier; and this pathetic hope is behind many exertions.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the futility of acquiring possessions for the sake of children’s happiness, suggesting that true value lies in personal betterment.
George Santayana's quote explores the relationship between material possessions and the well-being of future generations. It suggests that many people strive for wealth or possessions not just for their own fulfillment but with the hope that these will bring happiness to their children. However, it also expresses a sense of irony, indicating that this hope may be misguided if those possessions do not contribute to making one a better person, revealing the deeper question of what truly leads to happiness and fulfillment in life.
Themes
PossessionsHappinessChildrenBettermentHope
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on family values, one might reference this quote to emphasize the importance of personal growth over material wealth.
More from George Santayana
All quotes →The working of great institutions is mainly the result of a vast mass of routine, petty malice, self interest, carelessness and sheer mistake. Only a residual fraction is thought.
George SantayanaRead
There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. The dark background which death supplies brings out the tender colours of life in all their purity.
George SantayanaRead
Not to believe in love is a great sign of dullness. There are some people so indirect and lumbering that they think all real affection rests on circumstantial evidence.
George SantayanaRead
To feel beauty is a better thing than to understand how we come to feel it. To have imagination and taste, to love the best, to be carried by the contemplation of nature to a vivid faith in the ideal, all this is more, a great deal more, than any science can hope to be.
George SantayanaRead
The vital straining towards an ideal, definite but latent, when it dominates a whole life, may express that ideal more fully than could the best chosen words.
George SantayanaRead
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